Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said no one has lost ground in the development activities of the country. She said, not a single person in the country will remain homeless. In order to realize the dream of the liberation war, the basic problems of the people of the country including housing, education, medicine, food will be solved. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said this while inaugurating Package-1 of Rehabilitation through video conference from Dhaka on Thursday.
Through this inauguration of the Prime Minister, the owners of the houses damaged in the construction of Payra Port understood the key of the rehabilitated house. Package-1 houses were handed over to 114 families in the first phase of rehabilitation. The Payra Port Authority and the Ministry of Shipping confirmed the first step in the process of realizing the dreams of homeless people. The poor-impoverished fishermen-peasants received the ownership of the pucca houses. The people were overjoyed when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the house distribution programme.
According to Payra Port sources, rehabilitation work is underway for 3,500 families under the Payra project through 14 packages. The Prime Minister inaugurated the house with modern facilities of the first package. Meanwhile, local MP Principal Mahibbur Rahman, reserved women MP Kazi Kaniz Sultana Helen, former state minister Upazila Awami League president Mahbubur Rahman, Payra Port Authority Chairman Commodore Humayun Kallol, Patuakhali Deputy Commissioner Md. Matiul Islam Chowdhury, Superintendent of Police Mohammad Shahidullah and others spoke. After the development of land on 15 acres of land under package one, lovely pucca single storey houses have been constructed. Out of 114 houses, 36 are of A type and 6 are of B type. A type A house has been built on four katha land and type B house on three katha land. Anyone would love to see the houses lined up. Each house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a veranda.
There is a septic tank and a soak well for every four houses. Reserve tanks have been installed on the roof to supply pure water. A beautiful two-storied mosque with an Eidgah with high minarets has been constructed for prayers, where one and a quarter hundred worshipers can perform prayers at a time. The residents of this package have been provided with pure water including two deep tube wells and an underground reservoir. RCC and brick deep-shallow drainage systems have been installed. 16, 18 feet and 24 feet wide internal roads have been constructed. Ponds with paved ghats have been made too.
A market with 10 shops and a school cum community clinic has also been made. In addition to the designated area for fish market, there is an open space for selling vegetables. There is a playground and a cemetery too. Eco-friendly social forestry has been done in front of the houses. Empty space has been kept for gardening.
In a word, there is nothing which was not done in this rehabilitation project. The contractor that worked on the construction of package one was E-Engineering.
Training has already been imparted in various trades to improve the skills of these rehabilitated people.
Training of 22 trades including sewing, poultry, cattle rearing, driving, basic computer training is in progress. A total of 4200 people from 4200 families affected by the acquisition of land in Pigeon have been brought under the training. Of these, training has been provided to 2600 people in 104 batches of 18 trades. The port authorities have confirmed that 1985 trainees have already been involved in income generating activities in various trades.